Nov. 27, 2010
Box Score
EASTON, Pa. - Jared Mintz led Lafayette with 22 points and a career-high six assists in a 67-64 loss to Delaware on Saturday at Kirby Spots Center. Mintz drilled a pair of free throws to tie the game 59-59 with 1:30 left.
On the Blue Hens' next possession, Darion Benbow, who earned his first start of the season, was whistled for a foul on a blocked shot attempt. Devon Saddler made 1-of-2, to give Delaware a 60-59 lead.
The Leopards turned it over on their next possession and were forced to foul. Delaware's leading scorer, Jawan Carter, made both shots at the line for a 62-59 lead.
Lafayette cut the Delaware lead to one (62-61) again, on a backdoor cut and baseline layup by Nick Petkovich and assist by Mintz.
Carter was the recipient of two of Lafayette's last three fouls in the final 14 seconds of the game. He made all four of those attempts to finish 12-for-12 from the line for the day with 24 points.
When the game opened, it took Lafayette (1-5) 10 minutes to make its first basket of the game as Levi Giese drove to the basket made a three-point play off a jumper and free throw. The Leopards missed their first nine attempts and trailed 12-6.
Lafayette had back-to-back three's by Ben Wheeler and Petkovich that cut into the Blue Hens' 29-19 lead with 4:57 left in the half. The Leopards went on a 9-2 run to move within three with a minute left, but trailed 35-30 at halftime.
In the second half, Delaware (2-2) opened with a 17-6 run that ended at 10:23 with the Blue Hens' holding a 52-38 lead. Six players scored for Delaware in that spurt.
Lafayette answered with a 19-7 run that covered eight minutes and ended at the 2:37 mark, with a steal and layup by Jim Mower that pulled Lafayette within two, 59-57.
The Leopards were able to lure the Blue Hens' into foul by pounding the ball in to Mintz. Three players fouled out for Delaware. The Blue Hens' Josh Brinkley picked up his fifth foul with 1:30 remaining and sent Mintz to the line where he tied the game and began the decisive stretch.
Mower contributed 11 points while sophomore Tony Johnson brought down a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with nine points before fouling out in the final seconds. The Leopards shot 42 percent from the field and were outrebounded 34-27. Lafayette shot 71.4 percent from the line, its worst performance of the season.
Lafayette hosts Ivy League preseason favorite Princeton on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
